Let me count the ways...

Ira Glass is the reason I love radio. He has resurrected the magic of the oral tradition, constructing these modern day fables that continue to captivate. This piece, from his early, early days is timeless. And what could be better radio content than dead, hot, maggot-ridden, decomposing animals? Nothing. Nothing more evocative. Nothing tastier for a storyteller like Ira, and he knows it. He transports us all back to our 10-year-old selves, mesmerized by the mangled body of the dead cat lying in the street. Clarence Hicks, the 'dead animal catcher', is our Boo Radley-esque childhood god, and we giggle and squirm as he scoops up the dead. Ira perfectly captures the wonder, the humor, and the tragedy in every story he tells.
He is a master.

It's sort of amazing how the guy sees his job -- as just that, a job. Most of us see dead animals on the shoulder, and we ignore it or we play roadkill bingo. I think maybe most of us don't know what to make of this fact that to have the infrastructure we do in this country, all these animals are run over. It's just the way it is, the way it's been, so it's accepted as a necessary evil. I like that the veteran points out the idea that maybe the Earth isn't just for humans. I also enjoyed how the guy working goes from Grim Reaper to Angel, and then back to just a person doing a job, an undertaker. That's what he is for these animals, but maybe he does feel like he's returning some sense of dignity to them.

I remember this piece from way back. It holds up. Interestingly, it has a kind of NPR style that still sounds like NPR, while Ira's style has changed quite a bit. The most intimate moment is the conversation between Ira and the Animal Man at the end. I hope Ira will put up other early stuff like this. I remember a good one about a Halloween scary theme park. -JA